Innovative Show Design brings NBA TV studio alive with new set design

2012/12/07

When NBA TV at Turner Studios wanted a technologically advanced basketball studio that would appeal to the NBA player of today and their audience, it turned to scenic, lighting, and graphic design firm Innovative Show Design (ISD). Based in Orlando FL, ISD delivered a 360-degree studio, inside of which fit an NBA-regulated half court with a three-point line and basket.

“We wanted the design to display the glitz and glamour of the game,” recalls Justin Garrone, Associate Artistic Director for ISD, which specializes in broadcast television and live events and whose clients include NBC, ESPN, and Poker PROductions. “Considering the game is constantly moving, we wanted the set to have a sense of motion. We also looked at the arcs created by the ball when a player shoots it. Every corner and edge of the set reflects this.”

Courtesy of Innovative Show Design

In addition to rendering its files and adding texturing and lighting to achieve extra realism with CINEMA 4D software, ISD relied heavily on Vectorworks Spotlight software to ensure its measurements were correct. This came down to quarters of inches as the firm made changes to shape sizes and scales to ensure accuracy.

“Upon receiving measurements from the NBA, we recreated the court in Vectorworks, placing the court inside the studio drawing to make sure it fit,” says Garrone. “Then, we built the scenic wall around the court where we were limited on space. The walls, therefore, act as the out-of-bounds lines.”

ISD sent the Vectorworks construction drawings it created for the set to its fabrication shop, also a Vectorworks user, which used the files to extract a list of materials needed to build the set. In addition, ISD’s machine tool vendor exported cut commands from the files so his machines could create the set’s parts. This seamless, collaborative workflow proved to be a slam dunk for the entire team.